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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to press before boarding Marine One to depart for Florida, on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Trump peddles scent of “victory,” Iran expels Afghan refugees, Pharma factory fire rages in India, heatwave scorches Europe
$199: For the low low price of $199 you too can wear the scent of the US president. Donald Trump has just released a line of signature fragrances – “for patriots who never back down” – with names like “Fight Fight Fight” and “Victory 47.” For true enthusiasts there’s even a limited edition bottle featuring a golden (and deceptively svelte) statuette of Trump, costing a mere $249. Yes, by the way, it’s legal for the president to sell perfumes.
250,000: Over 250,000 Afghans left Iran last month, after the government ordered the expulsion of all undocumented Afghans – many of whom fled the Taliban – by July 6. The expulsions are part of a broader forcible repatriation effort by Iran and Pakistan that the UN’s Refugee Agency warns could destabilize an already fragile region.
39: More than 39 people have been killed so far in a factory fire in South India’s Telangana state. While the cause is still unclear, Sigachi Industries – the pharmaceutical company which operates the factory – has announced that it will suspend operations for 90 days.
115.9 (46.6): A heat wave is ripping across Europe, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits, reaching 115.9°F (46.6°C) in one Portuguese town on Sunday. The high temperatures are causing all manner of chaos: two Italians have died as a result, and heat-stoked wildfires are ravaging Turkey.Firefighters try to tackle a wildfire burning on Chios island, Greece, June 23, 2025.
HARD NUMBERS: Wildfires in Greece, Shootings at Gaza aid point, and more
400: Over 400 firefighters were deployed to the Greek Island of Chios on Tuesday, as wildfires rage there for a third straight day. While the cause is still unknown, officials declared a state of emergency on Sunday, forcing hundreds of villagers to evacuate.
25: Israeli forces reportedly killed at least 25 Palestinians at an aid distribution site in Gaza on Tuesday, per hospitals and witnesses in the area. These appear to be the latest killings at US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites, which began operations in Gaza in late May.
40: More than 40 people were killed in an attack at a hospital in Sudan’s West Kordofan over the weekend, near the frontline between the Sudanese Army and the rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces. Sudan’s civil war has been ongoing since April 2023.
57: The Colombian military has freed 57 soldiers from captivity, days after they were captured by locals residing in the southwestern Cauca region, an area that produces much cocaine. The country’s defense minister blamed rebel groups linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for their kidnapping.
Flags fly above the Peace Arch at a Canada-US border crossing in Blaine, Washington, USA, on April 2, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Canada-US deal takes shape, G7 kicks off in Kananaskis, Wildfires rage
Canada, US may be closer to a deal
Canadian and US officials may be approaching at least the framework of a deal covering trade and other issues, CBC reported Wednesday. Sources say that in exchange for tariff relief from the United States, Canada would agree to participate in Washington’s Golden Dome missile defense program and build infrastructure in the Arctic. But Canadian officials have cautioned there is as of yet no deal on the table.
The G7 summit: big guest list and big questions
The tarmac at Calgary International Airport will be clogged next week when leaders from around the world arrive for the G7 summit of the world’s advanced economy democracies at nearby Kananaskis. In addition to G7 leaders, the heads of Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Ukraine will attend. The big question: Can seven of the world’s most influential countries agree on a strategy for key issues such as trade, the climate, and Ukraine when the most powerful one of all now has radically different views from the rest?
Wildfires pose health risks near and far
Another terrible wildfire season in the northern forest has forced tens of thousands of Canadians, many of them from isolated Indigenous communities, to be evacuated to cities as distant as Niagara Falls, where they are staying in university dorms and hotels. In addition to the terrible disruption for those residents, the fires are sending smoke and smog as far away as Milwaukee. Worryingly, there is reason to fear the resulting health hazards could be more severe than usual.
US President Donald Trump appears onstage during a visit at US Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, USA, on May 30, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Trump doubles metal tariffs, Canada Liberals bid to secure the border, Wildfires spread
Trump doubles steel and aluminum duties
Days after a judge nixed Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the US president signed an executive order doubling steel and aluminum duties to 50%. Trump hopes the tariffs will boost domestic steel and aluminum industries, but the higher duties are terrible news for Canada, which is the top exporter of both metals to the US. Canada’s US-bound exports of steel were already down before Trump doubled the tariffs. Now they’re set to drop further — and take jobs with them. Mark Carney must now decide if he’ll respond, and risk provoking Trump, or back down and betray the anti-Trump, “elbows up” rhetoric he ran on.
Liberals introduce border bill in new Parliament
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree introduced the Strong Borders Act, which aims to strengthen border security, combat the trafficking of fentanyl and guns, and tackle money laundering. Anandasangaree said the bill was “not exclusively about the United States,” but admitted it aimed to remedy certain “irritants for the US.” The law would give the government sweeping discretionary powers — to open mail, for instance — so it is expected to meet a measure of resistance in Parliament.
Canadian wildfires send toxic smoke south
Wildfires in Canada have burned 2.1 million hectares (5.2 million acres) of land so far this year, sending hazardous smoke into the Midwest and East Coast of the United States, and even as far as Europe. Experts say the wildfire season in Canada is off to an extraordinary, and dangerous, start, reminiscent of the 2023 season, which was the worst in the country’s history. The flames are putting at risk the health of millions on both sides of the border.A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed in Edgewood, B.C., Canada, on May 17, 2025.
HARD NUMBERS: Trump officials fight ostrich culling, Mark Carney wants to ReArm with Europe, Wildfires in Manitoba, Golden Dome price set
300: Senior Trump administration figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz, are lobbying Canada to spare over 300 ostriches set to be culled due to bird flu concerns at a British Columbia farm. The farm’s owners dispute the extent of the outbreak, arguing most birds are healthy. Oz has offered to relocate the ostriches to his Florida ranch. Canadian officials insist they must be killed to protect public health and the poultry industry, as avian flu outbreaks spread across both countries.
5: Currently, 75 cents of every dollar Canada spends on defense goes to the US defense industry. But Prime Minister Mark Carney says he wants Canada to join ReArm Europe — a major European defense initiative — by July 1, in order to reduce reliance on US military spending. ReArm Europe aims to increase member nations’ defense spendings to 5% of GDP and, crucially, to do so without heavily importing from US arms manufacturers.
17,000: Over 17,000 people are being evacuated in Manitoba amid the province’s worst start to the wildfire season in years. There are 134 active fires across Canada — half of them burning out of control — in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, while the country braces for another deadly fire season.
$61 billion: US President Donald Trump says he has told Canada it will have to pay $61 billion to be part of his proposed Gold Dome missile defense system — or it can be included for free if it becomes the “cherished 51st state.”
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on May 8, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Conclave selects new pope, American TV loses amid Canadian hockey wins, Trump makes Ovechkin a Canuck, Wildfires scorch Alberta, Measles ravages Ontario, JD Vance’s half-brother advances in mayoral race
78 million: The 78 million Catholics living in the US and Canada finally have one of their own at the head of the church. After two days of deliberations, the Vatican conclave on Thursday named Robert Francis Prevost as pope, the first American ever to hold the job. Pope Leo XIV, as he will be known, is seen as a middle-of-the-road choice by comparison with his reform-minded predecessor, Pope Francis. But his strong, recent criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policy sets up immediate tension between the Vatican and the White House.
29%: Canada’s hockey success is America’s loss, if TV ratings are anything to go by. Canada has five teams in the National Hockey League playoffs for the first time since 2017, but US audiences don’t seem interested. Playoff viewership on ABC/ESPN dropped 29% from last year, and the corresponding ratings for TNT/TBS fell 16%. No team from Canada has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. If it happens, a lot of Americans might miss it entirely.
895: Speaking of hockey, US President Donald Trump appears to think that the Washington Capitals’ star player Alexander Ovechkin is Canadian. “You happen to have a very, very good hockey player right here on the Capitals,” Trump said during his meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. “Just broke the record, and he’s a great guy.” Ovechkin, who just broke the record for all-time goals in the NHL with his 895th gino last month, is Russian. At least the US president knows where The Great One is from.
72 hours: Wildfires northeast of Edmonton have caused two county offices to issue states of local emergency, with Thorhild County ordering the residents of rural Boyle to evacuate their homes for 72 hours. But the effects may not be confined to Alberta: two years ago, Canadian wildfire smoke and pollution turned blue skies orange across North America.
1,383: The number of confirmed or probable measles cases in Ontario hit 1,383 on Tuesday, with another 265 cases in Alberta, and 40 more in Quebec. Canada’s total cases now exceed those in the United States, which stand at 935. On a per-capita basis, Ontario’s outbreak is 21 times larger than America’s. Experts blame the measles spread on falling vaccination rates – a study last year found that immunization rates among Canadian children in five provinces fell seven percentage points between 2019 and 2023.
2,894: Coffee shop owner Cory Bowman, half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, advanced to the general election for Cincinnati mayor, despite receiving just 2,894 votes (13%) in the all-party primary. Incumbent Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat, dominated the primary election, winning 18,505 votes. The general election will take place in November.
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in a home along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Hard Numbers on the LA wildfires: From evacuations and deaths to estimated losses and insurance woes. Plus: Inmate firefighters
180,000: At least 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and an additional 200,000 face evacuation warnings. At least 10 people have been killed, but the death toll is expected to rise, and 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting.
9,000: A whopping 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, including the homes of many notable celebrities, such as Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, Adam Brody, and Eugene Levy.
10 billion: Preliminary insurance estimates suggest losses to the tune of $10 billion. The average home price in the Palisades area is $3.5 million and $1.25 million in the region affected by the Eaton fire. The economic loss estimate could be as high as $57 billion for the region.
30,000: In March 2024, State Farm informed 30,000 policyholders across California that it would not renew their insurance because they lived in areas that “present the most substantial wildfire or fire following earthquake hazards.” This included many homes in the Westside region of Los Angeles, as well as 1,600 policyholders in Pacific Palisades. Both State Farm and Allstate had already stopped issuing home insurance policies to new customers in the state in 2023. Smaller insurers may fill some gaps, however, with independent home insurer Mercury Insurance announcing Tuesday that it would write new home insurance policies in the town of Paradise, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018.
0.16: Thirty percent of firefighters in California are prison inmates who earn between $0.16 to $0.74 an hour or a maximum day rate of $5.80 to $10.24, plus a $4 daily food budget. They are tasked with cutting underbrush and vegetation to starve fires of fuel. While the inmates are volunteers, their ultra-low-wage labor is permitted under the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 8, 2025.
War of words as LA burns
Out-of-control wildfires are devastating southern California, which, in the hyperpolarized political world of 2025, has resulted in a war of words between Republicans and Democrats.
The fires are without precedent, the result of a warming climate, residential development in woodlands, decades of fire suppression that have left a lot of dead trees and dry grass, and powerful Santa Ana winds.
Whatever the cause, the blazes are dire. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from greater Los Angeles as multiple fires burn out of control. At least five people have been killed, and hundreds of buildings have been left in smoldering ruins.
President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk seized on the occasion to attack California Gov. Gavin Newsom, accusing him of being behind environmental restrictions that have prevented dams from being built. Newsom — or “Newscum,” as Trump calls him — has put a lot of money into forest management since Trump first accused him of creating conditions for wildfires back in 2019, but the high winds and heat made the fires unstoppable. Newsom has hit back, accusing Trump of playing politics at a time when leaders should be focused on managing the imminent threat.
The fires, and the war of words, are unlikely to end any time soon, but the bigger fight lies ahead, after Trump’s inauguration, when Democrats and Republicans are likely to clash over FEMA, which Trump has criticized, and forest management policies.